Deputy Min. Denies Internal Strife, Reaffirms Stance Against US Presence

February 4, 2025 Current News Articles

Farid Ahmad Atiqi

Tolo News

4 Feb 2025

According to him, as long as peace, an Islamic system, national unity, and territorial integrity exist, there is no need for such talks.

Mohammad Nabi Omari, the Deputy Minister of Interior, stated at a ceremony in Ghazni that there are no differences among the high-ranking officials of the Islamic Emirate, nor are they divided into factions.

During the introduction ceremony of the new deputy governor of Ghazni, the deputy minister of interior said:”They presented their request and ultimately stated that they wanted a base—whether by request, plea, or force, their forces would be stationed at Bagram Air Base. They said, ‘We do not care about your Islamic system, your enjoining of good and forbidding of evil, or your land.’ Our friends there told them that if a single NATO or American soldier remains in Afghanistan, we will fight them for a hundred years.”

Mohammad Nabi Omari added that during the Doha negotiations, the Islamic Emirate told American officials that even the presence of a single NATO soldier in Afghanistan was unacceptable and that no military base would be granted to the United States.

Regarding this, the deputy minister of interior said:”Do not think this way, do not worry, and do not be influenced by the media claims that suggest there are divisions such as the Kandahar network, the Haqqani network, or the Ghazni network. May God never show us such a situation in life or after death.”

Omari further stated that some political circles, in an attempt to receive dollars from the United States, are trying to force the Islamic Emirate into negotiations. According to him, as long as peace, an Islamic system, national unity, and territorial integrity exist, there is no need for such talks.

Mohammad Nabi Omari continued: “Take a few dollars from America and try to force the Taliban to negotiate with you. We have already said that there is security here, an Islamic system, national unity, and territorial integrity. No one has invaded our land, there is no occupation, and we are united. So, if I negotiate with you, what will be the agenda of our meeting?”

This comes as US President Donald Trump, in his recent remarks, emphasized the importance of Bagram Airfield, stating that due to its proximity to China, the airbase is significant for the United States.

Economy Ministry Rejects Washington Post’s Report on Wakhan

February 4, 2025 Current News Articles

Liluma Qadiry

Tolo News

4 Feb 2025

Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development said that 60% of the construction work on this major regional project has been completed.

The Ministry of Economy has rejected a report by The Washington Post regarding security and economic challenges facing the Wakhan project.

Abdul Latif Nazari, the Deputy Minister of Economy, told TOLOnews that Afghanistan, China, and regional countries have the political and economic will to advance this project, and there are no security challenges against it.

“The Ministry of Economy of the Islamic Emirate strongly rejects The Washington Post’s report on Afghanistan’s isolation and the existence of security threats. The Wakhan Corridor can transform Afghanistan into a trade hub and a regional transit and connectivity center. There is political and economic determination in Afghanistan, China, and regional countries to complete this project,” said the deputy minister.

The Washington Post reported that the Islamic Emirate is attempting to turn the remote Wakhan region into an international trade center and connect Afghanistan to China. However, security challenges and a lack of financial resources could hinder the project’s progress.

The newspaper also analyzed different aspects of the Wakhan Corridor project, stating that, according to satellite images, no new construction has taken place in the past seven months, and the completed section of the road ends less than half a mile from the Chinese border.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development said that 60% of the construction work on this major regional project has been completed, but due to cold weather, the work is currently on hold.

Noor-ul-Hadi Adel, the ministry’s spokesperson, said: “60% of the construction work on this project has been completed, but due to the cold weather and snowfall, the road construction has been halted. Once the weather improves, work on the project will resume.”

Two weeks ago, Abdul Karim Fateh, Deputy Minister of Public Works, told TOLOnews in an exclusive interview that the survey for the Wakhan Corridor in Badakhshan has been completed, and the design process is currently underway. He added that once the budget is approved by the leadership of the Islamic Emirate, the ministry is prepared to start its construction.

UN Working Group to Meet in February, Islamic Emirate Invited

February 4, 2025 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

4 Feb 2025

Pakistan Speeds Up Afghan Refugee Expulsions

February 3, 2025 Current News Articles

Sadaqat Ghorzani

Tolo News

3 Feb 2025

Some of these migrants have complained about mistreatment and harassment by Pakistani security forces.

Local officials in Nangarhar say that in the past week, 120 families and 215 Afghan migrants have been forcibly returned to Afghanistan through the Torkham crossing.

According to reports, on Saturday night, the Pakistani government expelled 141 Afghan migrants, many of whom had legal documents.

“120 families, including 550 individuals, along with 215 deported migrants, have been returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan via the Torkham crossing,” said Baz Mohammad Abdul Rahman, head of the Nangarhar Directorate of Refugees and Repatriation.

Some of these migrants have complained about mistreatment and harassment by Pakistani security forces.

“They expelled us and started oppressing us. I was arrested in Islamabad, and in prison, they only gave us one meal, just lentils,” said Gulzada, a deported migrant.

“I was in prison for three days. During this time, they only gave me one meal, and I was beaten four times,” stated Sharifullah, another deported migrant.

“I was arrested in Islamabad. In prison, they neither gave us food nor allowed us to buy food with our own money,” said Sher Agha, another deported migrant.

Meanwhile, officials at the Afghan Embassy in Pakistan have announced that in the past two months, the arrest of Afghan migrants in Islamabad and Rawalpindi has intensified.

“For the past two months, the arrest of Afghan migrants in Islamabad and Rawalpindi has continued in various forms. Just yesterday, arrests took place in many areas. In recent days, Islamabad police have detained dozens of Afghan migrants. A letter from the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office has been circulated on social media, instructing that all Afghan migrants with ACC cards, UNHCR refugees, and other Afghans with legal documents should be expelled from Islamabad and Rawalpindi and sent back to Afghanistan, said Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, acting ambassador of the Islamic Emirate in Islamabad.

According to information from the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad, the Pakistani government has decided to expel all Afghan migrants from Islamabad and Rawalpindi in the short term and return them to Afghanistan.

SIGAR: US Aid Suspension Will Deepen Afghanistan’s Economic Crisis

February 3, 2025 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

2 Feb 2025

SIGAR also said that the US government might want to consider reviewing the possibility of returning the $4 billion to Afghanistan.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), in its 66th report to the US Congress, highlighted President Trump’s directive to suspend US aid for 90 days.

According to the report, the “Taliban’s” interference in humanitarian aid distribution and the ban on women working in aid organizations have further deepened Afghanistan’s economic crisis.

SIGAR also said that the US government might want to consider reviewing the possibility of returning the $4 billion to Afghanistan.

However, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy has rejected SIGAR’s report, calling on the US to return Afghanistan’s frozen assets to its central bank.

Abdul Rahman Habib, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy, stated: “In addition to US economic sanctions and restrictions, approximately $9 billion of Afghanistan’s foreign reserves remain frozen, which has severely impacted the country’s economy. Any allocation, use, or action by the US regarding these assets is unacceptable. We urge the international community to return this money to Afghanistan’s central bank.”

Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State, in a televised interview, defended the 90-day suspension of foreign aid, emphasizing that some aid might be resumed or partially disbursed after a full review.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “And ultimately our foreign aid has to be a tool that we use to advance the national interest. The US Government is not a charity. It spends money on behalf of our national interest.”

At the same time, some economic experts warn that halting US aid will exacerbate poverty in Afghanistan and stress that the Taliban government and the US must negotiate a solution to address this crisis.

Mohammad Asif Stanikzai, an economic analyst, said: “In recent months, international criticism of Afghanistan has intensified, particularly regarding the ban on women’s employment and girls’ education. This issue has led to the suspension of foreign aid. A legitimate solution must be found to allow international organizations to continue providing assistance.”

Abdul Nasir Rashtia, another economic expert, said: “Humanitarian organizations that were assisting people had employed a large number of Afghan citizens, providing them with stable incomes. With the suspension of these organizations’ activities, many people have lost their jobs, further increasing poverty levels.”

The SIGAR report also stated that its operations are scheduled to completely shut down by January 31, 2026.

A Taliban highway could lead to the future. But it’s stuck in the past

February 2, 2025 Current News Articles

By Rick Noack and Carolyn Van Houten

The Washington Post

February 2, 2025

Taliban officials have a plan to turn one of the country’s remotest corners into a global trade hub by linking the Afghan heartland with China.

ISHKASHIM, Afghanistan — More than three years after the Taliban seized power, Afghanistan remains economically decrepit and politically isolated. But now, the Taliban government has a plan to turn one of the country’s remotest corners into a global trade hub.

The regime wants to build a highway through the Wakhan Corridor, the narrow, rugged panhandle in the far northeast, to connect the Afghan heartland with China — and place itself at the center of international commerce.

If the road is ever completed, it would bypass Pakistan, dramatically cutting travel times between Central Asia and China and potentially promoting trade in rare minerals and other resources, such as lithium, cobalt and gold. The highway’s boosters see it returning Afghanistan to the central place it held ages ago on the Silk Road, as China pushes forward with plans to build a modern version of the route with an intercontinental network of land and maritime routes. “Wakhan is part of it,” said Abdul Salam Jawad, a spokesman for the Taliban-run Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Buzai Gumbad

The Taliban says its initial task is to pave a 30-mile stretch of dirt road just west of the Chinese border, though 200 more miles are also largely unpaved and badly in need of improvement. Ultimately, the route will require building durable bridges and eliminating river crossings that become inaccessible in high water.

But its detractors say the road could easily become a highway to nowhere.

Satellite images from Maxar, a commercial imaging firm, show that on the Afghan side of the border, no new construction has occurred on the corridor’s Wakhjir Pass since August and that the completed segment ends in rough terrain, less than a half-mile from the border.

“Our government doesn’t have enough budget,” Zabihullah Amiri, director of the provincial Information Ministry, acknowledged in an interview. “We hope that China will help.”

Chinese companies have struck numerous deals to mine rare minerals in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. But despite the Taliban’s claims that China is eager to team up with the regime to facilitate trade via the Wakhan Corridor, Beijing has so far stayed away from undertaking large infrastructure projects.

The challenges facing the project are the same as those confronting the Afghan economy as a whole. The Taliban’s tightening restrictions on women and girls have left Afghanistan economically isolated, with many foreign governments, multinational companies and international agencies reluctant to invest under these repressive conditions. Security also remains a grave concern for development amid persistent attacks by Islamist militants, at times targeting Chinese visitors.

Along with a team of Washington Post journalists, I recently traveled from the capital, Kabul — 600 miles from the Chinese border — to the Wakhan Corridor to explore the factors afflicting the highway project and the Taliban’s broader aspirations.

Most of the work on the highway so far has occurred over the border in China. Satellite imagery shows that small portions of roadway there have been recently paved, improving the existing road, and that additional guard posts have been erected at the border.

But Afghan state media has focused instead on even the tiniest progress on the Afghan side.

In Kabul, the headlines about such progress have prompted enthusiasm. Abdul Jabar Saqib, 39, is preparing for what he projects will be an influx of Chinese merchants. He just opened a Chinese restaurant in downtown Kabul and is planning branches elsewhere in the city. Visitors arriving at Kabul’s airport, meanwhile, are greeted these days by a billboard advertising a recently opened Chinese hotel.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister, recently met with the Chinese ambassador to discuss the Wakhan Corridor and “the enhancement of trade relations,” said Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the ministry.

So far, demand appears to be primarily driven by companies that can afford to take risks. Some long-standing Chinese merchants, however, say the number of Chinese people starting businesses in Kabul has actually declined since the Taliban takeover, with some citing concerns over the safety of their investments.

A language teacher in Kabul said an initial wave of interest in learning Chinese may already be fading. There is no shortage of work for the limited pool of well-qualified interpreters. But the teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing Chinese funding, said scholarship applications to study in China are being rejected en masse by the Chinese government. Only a few Chinese construction companies have shown interest in recruiting entry-level graduates for road construction or mining projects.

Wary investors

To reach the Wakhan Corridor from Kabul, we first had to follow the main road north, eventually passing through the infamous Salang Tunnel, a claustrophobic, smog-filled 1.7-mile passage built by the Soviet Union at an altitude of over 11,000 feet, where even the most seasoned travelers can experience altitude sickness. The tunnel was a remarkable engineering achievement when it was built in the 1960s, but today, with heavier traffic volumes, travelers often find themselves mired in long jams. The Taliban has announced plans to build a second tunnel, but the cost could be prohibitive.

Upgrading the roadways to Wakhan and then constructing a connecting road to China could require financing like that in the Cold War, international organizations suggest, when the Soviet Union and the United States pumped money into the country because they saw it as strategically important.

Supporters of the Taliban say there has been a noticeable increase in the construction of infrastructure under its rule. But much of that work has been in cities like Kabul, rather than on the eroded network of Afghan highways spanning thousands of miles.

One reason for the continued neglect of highways has been a lack of international funding due to the Taliban’s crackdown on women’s rights, according to foreign donors. Western governments are wary of being seen as supportive of the regime; many international donors have yet to resume funding for major development projects; and Afghanistan’s banking system remains internationally ostracized.

Still, many Afghan men in places like Baghlan — at the north end of the tunnel — are optimistic about the future because the withdrawal of U.S. troops put an end to the country’s long war. Mohammad Wali Baghlani, a 60-year-old businessman in Baghlan, says his region’s golden era is still ahead.

But for women, peace has come at a steep cost. “We’re waiting for a miracle to happen,” said a 23-year-old woman in Baghlan, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid drawing scrutiny from the regime.

Security fears

Beyond Baghlan, the road eventually came to a junction and we turned east, arriving before too long at Taleqan. Under the Taliban’s plans for the Wakhan Corridor, this city would become a major transport hub.

These days, convoys carrying Taliban soldiers race along Taleqan’s roads with sirens blaring. Rumors of robberies and militant attacks are ubiquitous. Such security fears could derail the Taliban’s plans for Wakhan, in part because violence could scare off the Chinese engineers and other experts that the Afghan government is counting on. Continuing attacks could also depress commerce.

Islamic State-Khorasan, the local Islamic State affiliate, has asserted responsibility for numerous attacks in various parts of Afghanistan since 2021, including a December 2022 assault on a hotel in Kabul that injured five Chinese citizens. ISIS-K views the Chinese government as a target, railing against what the group has called “China’s daydream of imperialism.” The increasing reach of the militants was illustrated late last year when a bombing claimed by ISIS-K killed an Afghan cabinet minister, Khalil Haqqani.

In neighboring Pakistan, attacks that have killed 20 Chinese nationals since 2021 brought a strong reaction from the Chinese government, which warned that plans for major construction projects could be in jeopardy and demanded that the Pakistani government take action against the militants responsible for the violence.

The Taliban claims it isn’t worried. “Finally, after four decades of war, we have reached full security across the country,” reads a large roadside billboard on the way north.

But the closer one gets to Afghanistan’s northern border, the more hushed conversations become about the security situation and the more guarded the behavior, with residents often avoiding eye contact. Government snipers were positioned above Taleqan’s market square.

At the end of an interview, Zabihullah Ansar, head of the Taliban’s information directorate in the city, advised us to keep a low profile and hide our foreign identities. “The security situation is dire,” he said.

Someone to blame

More than 100 miles farther east, we finally reached the Wakhan Corridor. It is here that the Taliban dreams of a vibrant commercial artery. Today, it is home to little more than sleepy, neglected villages. The main road is patched together from gravel and pavement, and mostly devoid of traffic.

At the town of Ishkashim, at the western entrance to the corridor, a slogan carved into the mountainside by the previous Afghan government still welcomes visitors. It reads, ironically, “Education For Everyone.” The Taliban has banned girls and women from secondary and university education.

“Maybe, if the road was opened and foreigners came from afar, the Taliban would have to give us more freedom,” mused a 25-year-old woman.

But there is a widening gulf between ambition and reality in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. And as this gap becomes more obvious, some Afghans are looking for someone to blame.

Without providing evidence, local officials in the region are spreading word that foreign powers are behind a plot to prevent the Wakhan road from ever being built. Some Taliban officials and supporters claim that neighboring Pakistan, which could lose the most if the highway is built, may be preparing to invade Afghanistan to block the project.

Paranoia seems to be on the rise here. In Wakhan, Mohammad Zakir Ahmadi, a 54-year-old shepherd, said he was stunned to pass 150 Taliban security checkpoints over two weeks while herding about 20 of his yaks through the corridor.

There is little here to suggest a new future for Afghanistan. But the wreckage of Russian tanks rusting in riverbeds and abandoned NATO military bases with faded camouflage tarps offer ample reminders of the past that Afghans dream of leaving behind.

Lyric Lee, Haq Nawaz Khan, Sarah Cahlan, Shaiq Hussain and Fariba Akbari contributed to this report. Graphics by Amaya Verde and Jarrett Ley.

Rick Noack is The Washington Post’s Afghanistan bureau chief. Previously at The Post, he was the Paris correspondent, covering France and Europe, and an international affairs reporter based in Berlin, London and Washington.

Carolyn Van Houten is a Pulitzer Prize-winning staff photojournalist at the Washington Post.

Iran’s foreign minister meets Taliban in 1st visit to Kabul in 8 years

February 2, 2025 Current News Articles

Associated Press/VOA

January 26, 2025

Top Taliban officials met Iran’s foreign minister Sunday to discuss tensions along their shared border, the treatment of Afghan refugees in Iran and water rights.

It was the first visit by an Iranian foreign minister to the Afghan capital since 2017.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was committed to the return of some 3.5 million Afghan refugees and had no intention of interfering in its neighbor’s domestic politics, according to a statement from the Afghan government’s deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat.

He also called for the full implementation of the Helmand River water treaty, which envisions shared water resources, the statement said.

Acting Prime Minister Hassan Akhund asked Iran to treat Afghan refugees with respect and said it was not feasible to manage a large-scale repatriation within a short period. He also said incidents such as the execution of Afghans in Iran provoked public sentiment.

Araghchi also met Afghanistan’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob.

Earlier Sunday, Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Araghchi as saying he hoped for more economic ties and improved relations with Afghanistan, citing some “ups and downs.”

Iran doesn’t formally recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan, which seized power in 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country following two decades of war.

But Tehran maintains political and economic ties with Kabul and has allowed the Taliban to manage Afghanistan’s Embassy in Iran’s capital.

Trump at odds with US military veterans over snarled Afghan relocations

February 2, 2025 Current News Articles

By Joseph Stepansky

Al Jazeera

Washington, DC – When Ruqia Balkhi arrived in the United States in September 2023, she was greeted by a federally funded resettlement agency that helped her launch a new life.

Balkhi, a 55-year-old engineer, was one of the thousands of Afghans who worked alongside the US military during its two-decade-long intervention in her home country.

But after the fall of the US-backed government in 2021, it became unsafe for her to stay in Afghanistan under Taliban leadership.

So she left for the US. During her first 90 days in the country, Balkhi received temporary housing, language lessons, basic goods, mental health support and guidance on enrolling her 15-year-old son in a local school in Virginia.

However, when her husband, Mohammed Aref Mangal, arrived under the same visa programme in January, those services had been abruptly halted. President Donald Trump had just been inaugurated, and the US had tightened restrictions on federal funding and immigration.

“It was completely opposite for my husband,” Balkhi said of the circumstances he faced.

Advocates say her family’s story illustrates how Trump’s broad executive orders might have repercussions even for areas of bipartisan support.

Veteran organisations have largely supported efforts to bring Afghan citizens to safety in the US, particularly if they worked with US forces or the US-backed government.

But in the first days of Trump’s second term, the government paused the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), leaving some already approved Afghan applicants stranded abroad.

Another executive order halted foreign aid. That, in turn, has caused interruptions to the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programme for Afghans who worked with the US military, like Balkhi and her husband.

Balkhi explained that her husband was luckier than most, given that he had a family already established in the US. But she expressed anguish for those entering the country without the same support system she received.

“Without help from the resettlement agency, I don’t think we would have been able to survive,” she told Al Jazeera in Dari, speaking through a translator provided by the Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area.

Some critics see the issue as a test of just how durable Trump’s hardline policies will be when their full impact becomes clear.

“My request from the new government is that they not forget their commitments to Afghan allies and Afghan immigrants,” Balkhi said.

Trump’s campaign promises made no secret of his desire to overhaul the US immigration system, to fend off what he decried as a migrant “invasion”.

But his criticism of the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 had sparked hope among those advocating for services for Afghans involved with the US military.

“President Trump campaigned on a bunch of stuff related to Afghanistan, particularly how bad the withdrawal was,” Shawn VanDiver, the founder of #AfghanEvac, an organisation that supports Afghan resettlement.

“So I just don’t believe that he would do that and then not try to help our allies. I’m just hoping this is a mistake.”

In his latest bid for re-election, Trump repeatedly expressed sympathy for those caught up in the August 2021 troop withdrawal, during which a suicide bombing claimed the lives of 13 US service members and 170 Afghans.

Trump also blasted former US President Joe Biden for overseeing the incident, which he called the “Afghanistan calamity”. The day before his inauguration, on January 19, Trump pointedly visited the grave of three soldiers who died during the withdrawal effort.

VanDiver said Trump’s actions from here forward will be critical. If his administration changes course on Afghan resettlement, VanDiver sees that as a hopeful sign.

“But if they don’t change anything, well, then you can be left to conclude that maybe they did mean to do it.”

While Trump’s orders have not directly stopped processing under SIV, they have snarled a pipeline for those seeking relief under the programme, which requires federal funding to operate.

Earlier this month, 10 national organisations that rely on federal support to provide “reception and placement services” received an order to stop work immediately — and incur no further costs.

The State Department’s freeze on foreign aid has also gutted services for those waiting abroad in places like Qatar and Albania, including medical care, food and legal support, VanDiver explained.

Most significantly, Trump’s orders have cut funding for relocation flights run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Most SIV recipients relied on that transportation reach the US.

“The shutdown of these services isn’t just an inconvenience,” VanDiver said, pointing to the delicate living situations of many Afghans seeking safety. “It could be a death sentence for some of the most vulnerable evacuees.”

Refugee suspension

The SIV programme is not the only one hampered by Trump’s new orders, though.

Refugee resettlement has likewise ground to a halt. Under the previous US administration, Afghans facing persecution from the Taliban could apply for relocation under special refugee categories.

The P1 category was reserved for Afghans referred by the US embassy, while P2 was available for those who worked with the US military, US government-affiliated programmes or nonprofits based in the US. A third category also allowed for family unification, for those with relatives already in the US.

Those pathways have all been closed amid the wider suspension of the US refugee programme.

Kim Staffieri, the executive director of the Association of Wartime Allies, said individuals seeking refuge through those programmes should receive the same urgent attention as SIV recipients.

“There are a lot of people that helped us, who worked for the same goals over there that are very much in danger, but they just don’t qualify for the SIV because it’s got such tight requirements on,” Staffieri said.

She added that she expected Trump’s administration to have given more consideration to Afghan refugees, given the bipartisan support for them.

“We expected some challenges. What we didn’t expect were these broad, sweeping strokes of pausing and suspending necessary programmes,” she told Al Jazeera.

“It feels like either they didn’t have knowledge or they didn’t take time to really think what the downstream effects would be in their entirety.”

Veteran support

Polls have repeatedly shown wide support for resettling Afghans who supported US forces during the war in Afghanistan.

In September 2021, for instance, a poll from NPR and the research firm Ipsos suggested that two-thirds of US respondents backed the relocations, far outpacing support for other groups seeking refuge.

That high level of approval has continued in the years since. An October 2023 poll from the With Honor advocacy group found that 80 percent of respondents signalled continuing support for Afghan resettlement.

US military veterans have been at the forefront of the relocation effort. That demographic, while diverse, typically skews conservative. About 61 percent supported Trump in the 2024 election, according to the Pew Research Center.

Andrew Sullivan, the chief of advocacy and government affairs of No One Left Behind, an SIV advocacy group, described the support as “a matter of national honour and of national security”.

“It is certainly a veterans issue. And so it’s been a bipartisan issue,” said Sullivan.

A veteran of the Afghanistan war himself, Sullivan worked closely alongside an Afghan interpreter when he was an army infantry officer. That interpreter — whom Sullivan identified only by a first name, Ahmadi — has since relocated to the US through the SIV programme.

Sullivan said he was optimistic Trump would eventually create “carve-outs” for Afghans, pointing to the large number of veterans from the Afghanistan conflict in the Republican’s administration.

One of those veterans, former Congressman Mike Waltz, has since become Trump’s White House national security adviser. Waltz previously put pressure on former President Biden to “bring home our Afghan allies”.

Sullivan explained he has repeatedly engaged with Waltz on the issue, and he left feeling hopeful.

“He understands on that personal, visceral level, how much these folks mean to [veterans],” Sullivan said. “So I know he gets it.”

‘A screeching halt’

Other advocates, however, are less hopeful. James Powers, a grassroots organiser from Ohio who focuses on veterans issues, pointed to immigration hardliner Stephen Miller’s role in the new administration.

Miller had served in Trump’s first administration when SIV processing had slowed to a trickle.

“It only makes sense that [the programme] would come to a screeching halt as soon as he got back into power to influence the current president,” Powers said.

Advocates also worried that the years of work to grow the current system were at risk.

Just last year, Congress passed a law with bipartisan support that created a special office to coordinate and streamline SIV relocations.

Over the last four years, the Biden administration also expanded the processing of both SIVs and other Afghan refugee categories. Biden’s government issued 33,341 SIVs in fiscal year 2024, about triple the number issued in 2022, the first full fiscal year following the withdrawal.

Afghan refugee admissions also increased from 1,618 in fiscal year 2022 to 14,708 in 2024.

All told, over 200,000 Afghans have been relocated to the US since the withdrawal, including tens of thousands flown on evacuation flights in the immediate aftermath.

“They’ve got to do a better job,” Powers said of the Trump administration. “There are fair experts on both sides of the aisle, on all ideological spectrums, that will tell them there are better ways.”

Source: Al Jazeera

UNHCR expresses concern over deportation of Afghan refugees from Islamabad and Rawalpindi

February 2, 2025 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

February 2, 2025

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pakistan has expressed concern over the expulsion of Afghan nationals from Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The organization is aware of the Pakistani government’s directive that all Afghans holding the ACC card must leave these cities and immediately return to Afghanistan.

In a statement released on Saturday, February 1, the UNHCR confirmed that under the new instructions from the Pakistani government, Afghan nationals with POR cards are also required to relocate from Islamabad and Rawalpindi. This comes despite the fact that their residence permits in Pakistan are valid until June 30 of this year.

The UNHCR further stated that Afghans who have been accepted for resettlement in third countries must also adhere to this relocation order. These individuals are required to move out of Islamabad and Rawalpindi by March 31, 2025, according to the decision made by the Pakistani authorities.

The decision to expel Afghan refugees has raised significant concerns, particularly about the safety and security of those affected. Many of the displaced individuals have limited resources and are already vulnerable due to their refugee status. The UNHCR’s call for attention underscores the need for more international support to ensure their rights and welfare are protected during this difficult transition.

The large-scale return of Afghans from Pakistan, especially under such circumstances, may further strain Afghanistan’s already fragile infrastructure and resources. As more people are forced to return to Afghanistan, international organizations and governments must step up their support to ensure that these returnees have access to basic services, shelter, and opportunities to rebuild their lives.

Iran’s Interior Minister says over one million Afghan refugees deported

February 2, 2025 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

February 2, 2025

Iskandar Momeni, Iran’s Minister of the Interior, announced on Saturday, February 1, that since the beginning of March last year, 1.1 million Afghan refugees have been sent back to Afghanistan from Iran.

Momeni made these remarks during a special interview with Iran’s state television, IRIB News. He highlighted that, as of now, there are six million foreign nationals living in Iran. He also pointed out that two million of these individuals are residing in Iran illegally, even for short-term stays.

Minister Momeni reminded that there are limited job opportunities available for both refugees and local citizens. Furthermore, international assistance to address the needs of the migrant population is still lacking.

Although Afghan migrants have historically been present in Iran, the number of migrants has increased significantly since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Factors such as lack of job opportunities, poverty, insecurity, and ethnic discrimination under Taliban rule have forced many Afghan citizens to flee their homeland.

The large number of Afghan refugees in Iran is placing immense pressure on the country’s resources. With limited opportunities for both refugees and local populations, Iran faces a challenging situation. The need for international cooperation to support both the migrants and host communities is becoming more urgent.

Given the ongoing political instability in Afghanistan, long-term solutions to the refugee crisis are necessary. International organizations and governments must work together to create sustainable plans that support refugees while addressing the root causes of displacement, such as conflict and lack of opportunity in Afghanistan.

Associated Press/VOA

January 26, 2025

Refugee suspension

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